Reading results for 10 to 11 year olds

Published

Last updated 9 September 2019 - see all updates

This page has been archived.
It has been replaced by School results for 10 to 11 year olds.

There is a new version of this page. View the latest version.

1. Main facts and figures

  • in 2017/18, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading by the end of key stage 2 (when they are 10 or 11 years old)
  • 28% of pupils met the higher standard
  • out of all ethnic groups, pupils from the Chinese group were the most likely to meet both the expected and higher standards
  • White Irish pupils made the most progress between key stage 1 and key stage 2
  • White Gypsy/Roma pupils were the least likely to meet both the expected and higher standards, and they also made the least progress
  • girls were more likely than boys to meet both the expected and higher standards in most ethnic groups
  • girls made more progress than boys in all ethnic groups
Things you need to know

In 2017/18, there were 619,690 pupils assessed for reading in key stage 2 at state-funded schools, and ethnicity was known for 614,126 (99%) of them.

Of those whose ethnicity was known, 75% of pupils were White, 11% were Asian, 6% were Black, 6% were Mixed ethnicity, 0.4% were Chinese and 2% were from another ethnic group.

Pupil numbers for key stage 2 vary between measures of attainment for different subjects. This is because pupils who don't have a valid result for a particular subject are excluded from the total. For more about valid results, see the Methodology section.

Previous versions of this page included attainment figures broken down by local authority area. The 2017/18 figures for local authorities will be added as soon as they are available.

What the data measures

This data measures the reading attainment of pupils at the end of key stage 2 when pupils are 10 or 11 years old.

The data covers the academic year 2017/18 (September 2017 to July 2018). Data for the academic year 2015/16 and 2016/17 is available in the download file.

Standards in reading are divided into 2 categories:

  • expected standard – to meet this, pupils must have achieved a ‘scaled score’ of 100 or more
  • higher standard (sometimes called the ‘high score’) – to meet this, pupils must have achieved a ‘scaled score’ of 110 or more

For each ethnic group, there are also figures for:

  • average scaled score
  • progress score

The average scaled score measures the average attainment of pupils in key stage 2 reading tests. Results range from 80 to 120. A scaled score allows for variations in test difficulty year on year by standardising each pupil’s test results. This allows a clearer comparison between years. You can read more about scaled scores at key stage 2.

The progress score measures the progress that pupils make between the end of key stage 1 (primary school year 2) and the end of key stage 2 (year 6). A pupil’s results are compared with the actual achievements of other pupils nationally with similar key stage 1 attainment.

This data shows an average progress score for each ethnic group. A progress score of 0 (the national average) means pupils are making the expected amount of progress. A positive score (0.1 and above) means they are making more progress than expected, and a negative score (-0.1 and below) less progress than expected.

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census, which is broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:

  • Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
  • Sri Lankan is included in the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
  • Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category from Asian

These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.

Data is reported for broad and detailed ethnic categories. These are

Asian/Asian British:

  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Bangladeshi
  • Sri Lankan
  • Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

  • Black African
  • Black Caribbean
  • Other Black background

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

  • White and Black Caribbean
  • White and Black African
  • White and Asian
  • Other Mixed background

White:

  • White British
  • White Irish
  • Traveller of Irish Heritage
  • Gypsy/Roma
  • Other White

Chinese

Other ethnic group

Information is provided for both detailed and broad ethnic groups where possible and when the data is available. The 6 broad categories used are:

  • Asian/Asian British
  • Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
  • Chinese
  • Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
  • White
  • Other ethnic group

2. By ethnicity

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in reading, and average scaled score and progress score, by ethnicity
Ethnicity expected standard higher standard average scaled score progress score
All 75 28 105 0.0
Asian 75 27 105 1.9
Bangladeshi 76 25 105 2.0
Indian 81 36 107 2.6
Pakistani 70 21 104 1.1
Asian other 78 30 106 2.8
Black 74 24 105 0.3
Black African 75 26 105 0.9
Black Caribbean 70 20 103 -1.3
Black other 72 22 104 0.0
Chinese 83 42 108 4.7
Mixed 77 30 106 0.0
Mixed White/Asian 81 36 107 0.7
Mixed White/Black African 77 29 105 -0.1
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 72 24 104 -1.3
Mixed other 79 31 106 0.6
White 76 29 105 -0.3
White British 76 29 105 -0.5
White Irish 82 39 107 0.3
Gypsy/Roma 28 4 95 -0.7
Irish Traveller 37 7 98 -1.1
White other 69 25 104 2.2
Other 68 23 104 2.3
Unknown 63 24 104 -0.2

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

  • overall in 2017/18, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading (when they are usually 10 or 11 years old), and 28% achieved a high score
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest attainment of all the ethnic groups, with 83% of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and 42% meeting the higher standard
  • White Gypsy/Roma pupils had the lowest attainment, with 28% meeting the expected standard in reading and 4% meeting the higher standard
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average scaled score (108), and White Gypsy/Roma children had the lowest average scaled score (95); the national average was 105
  • between key stage 1 and key stage 2, White Irish pupils made the most progress, with a progress score of 1.4; White Gypsy/Roma pupils made the least progress, with a progress score of -1.4

3. By ethnicity and area

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading by ethnicity and area
All Asian Black Chinese Mixed White
Local Authority All % All Number Asian % Asian Number Black % Black Number Chinese % Chinese Number Mixed % Mixed Number White % White Number
Barking and Dagenham 75 2,570 80 556 77 846 86 6 76 201 72 902
Barnet 82 3,259 84 367 75 372 91 50 83 342 85 1,794
Barnsley 74 2,015 82 14 73 16 100 4 87 46 74 1,913
Bath and North East Somerset 79 1,501 68 19 58 7 57 4 80 80 79 1,377
Bedford 61 1,239 56 176 55 70 86 6 65 129 63 836
Bexley 80 2,532 90 227 82 501 97 29 79 184 77 1,539
Birmingham 71 11,111 72 4,074 71 1,444 80 52 73 962 71 3,919
Blackburn with Darwen 75 1,642 75 752 76 25 100 5 78 50 76 801
Blackpool 72 1,188 71 22 100 5 78 7 69 38 72 1,111
Bolton 75 2,819 75 665 64 145 92 12 85 130 75 1,823
Bournemouth 76 1,257 93 63 79 15 75 9 79 84 75 1,062
Bracknell Forest 77 1,059 83 71 78 36 100 3 77 64 77 873
Bradford 71 5,457 71 2,332 68 82 67 2 73 301 71 2,623
Brent 73 2,666 74 779 71 670 83 5 72 185 77 737
Brighton and Hove 80 2,094 73 67 74 39 91 10 81 240 80 1,676
Bristol, City of 73 3,400 67 255 62 350 88 23 72 263 76 2,461
Bromley 82 3,008 87 170 78 263 76 22 83 339 83 2,140
Buckinghamshire 79 4,833 77 791 73 121 85 17 79 353 80 3,474
Bury 76 1,739 63 212 68 38 80 4 74 87 79 1,367
Calderdale 74 1,949 71 286 69 11 0 0 68 64 75 1,571
Cambridgeshire 75 5,092 76 211 74 62 100 39 81 293 75 4,400
Camden 82 1,231 78 242 78 258 100 7 89 152 84 491
Central Bedfordshire 74 2,451 76 64 74 67 85 11 77 164 74 2,116
Cheshire East 81 3,270 82 58 79 15 73 11 80 127 81 3,025
Cheshire West and Chester 78 2,981 75 44 60 9 80 12 88 97 78 2,804
City of London 76 22 40 2 50 1 N/A* N/A* 67 2 87 13
Cornwall 75 4,342 78 21 83 5 78 7 81 96 75 4,164
County Durham 78 4,317 86 30 81 13 77 10 85 60 78 4,174
Coventry 72 2,998 77 638 71 385 80 12 71 207 71 1,702
Croydon 77 3,420 80 571 74 1,003 87 20 79 527 77 1,195
Cumbria 78 3,986 86 31 57 4 86 12 76 48 78 3,841
Darlington 78 961 79 23 100 5 100 3 69 20 78 903
Derby 71 2,285 75 434 76 107 73 11 79 220 69 1,473
Derbyshire 76 6,247 77 72 58 18 77 20 72 162 76 5,920
Devon 77 6,021 84 36 63 10 86 12 87 155 77 5,729
Doncaster 70 2,470 68 71 60 27 88 14 73 76 71 2,250
Dorset 74 3,209 73 27 79 11 89 8 80 121 74 3,017
Dudley 69 2,513 68 294 68 64 70 7 70 161 69 1,946
Ealing 77 3,167 76 922 73 474 87 13 83 319 82 970
East Riding of Yorkshire 77 2,723 71 10 100 2 50 1 84 56 77 2,637
East Sussex 76 4,060 83 99 56 19 75 9 73 180 77 3,694
Enfield 74 3,279 82 319 74 825 83 20 82 353 71 1,511
Essex 77 12,404 89 397 81 433 89 65 77 601 76 10,657
Gateshead 81 1,691 68 26 85 29 69 9 76 25 81 1,545
Gloucestershire 76 4,914 78 155 68 61 54 7 73 234 76 4,385
Greenwich 79 2,581 84 205 82 953 83 35 82 273 76 1,036
Hackney 78 1,970 82 256 76 697 85 17 79 202 79 669
Halton 75 1,101 100 3 75 3 N/A* N/A* 90 36 75 1,046
Hammersmith and Fulham 83 1,109 87 78 78 276 100 2 84 149 87 463
Hampshire 79 11,376 83 348 75 134 92 46 82 469 78 10,275
Haringey 75 2,318 81 145 70 577 79 31 86 279 77 1,135
Harrow 81 2,242 83 1,115 81 237 100 14 83 171 80 590
Hartlepool 76 858 89 24 100 2 50 2 75 9 75 819
Havering 78 2,308 82 168 77 272 94 16 78 138 78 1,678
Herefordshire, County of 80 1,502 86 6 0 0 100 3 79 34 80 1,446
Hertfordshire 80 10,839 83 864 75 444 91 61 82 816 79 8,494
Hillingdon 78 2,844 80 812 76 305 60 6 80 366 76 1,125
Hounslow 78 2,317 82 752 74 277 100 17 84 210 76 783
Isle of Wight 69 912 67 12 0 0 100 4 82 31 69 861
Isles of Scilly 76 26 N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* 100 1 76 25
Islington 78 1,454 81 121 69 303 100 10 81 235 81 683
Kensington and Chelsea 84 809 78 29 83 133 100 4 82 144 88 322
Kent 77 13,352 83 533 79 341 92 44 80 735 77 11,480
Kingston upon Hull, City of 76 2,379 91 42 66 41 100 6 73 95 77 2,134
Kingston upon Thames 82 1,469 85 257 64 37 92 23 82 136 83 886
Kirklees 73 3,831 68 980 66 75 67 8 64 222 76 2,499
Knowsley 73 1,261 89 39 94 15 80 4 85 34 73 1,165
Lambeth 79 2,352 82 115 75 968 80 12 83 350 83 765
Lancashire 76 10,342 71 1,139 70 50 85 28 76 342 77 8,717
Leeds 72 6,476 69 736 65 434 93 51 74 387 74 4,726
Leicester 71 3,190 74 1,415 68 331 100 13 70 220 68 1,094
Leicestershire 77 5,777 82 473 83 66 88 28 74 253 76 4,903
Lewisham 79 2,659 79 201 77 1,020 82 37 79 372 80 883
Lincolnshire 72 5,556 90 63 69 24 81 13 72 170 72 5,224
Liverpool 73 3,587 73 128 75 185 79 57 76 189 73 2,909
Luton 70 2,162 71 1,020 68 233 100 4 75 189 69 682
Manchester 72 4,769 69 1,057 76 925 74 39 76 426 73 2,012
Medway 73 2,379 81 121 80 163 100 9 76 171 71 1,881
Merton 80 1,854 82 447 77 265 89 17 83 197 80 874
Middlesbrough 72 1,296 75 131 66 21 100 2 81 71 72 1,050
Milton Keynes 76 2,668 83 367 72 411 86 18 78 217 75 1,600
Newcastle upon Tyne 78 2,176 75 308 75 106 79 19 85 99 79 1,589
Newham 82 3,760 82 1,737 83 914 93 13 87 251 79 601
Norfolk 72 6,320 74 87 71 62 60 18 75 195 72 5,872
North East Lincolnshire 74 1,394 79 11 100 5 100 2 75 43 73 1,318
North Lincolnshire 74 1,446 76 58 29 2 N/A* N/A* 73 36 74 1,330
North Somerset 77 1,828 65 17 75 6 75 3 70 53 77 1,735
North Tyneside 77 1,723 77 46 89 24 100 7 73 45 77 1,593
North Yorkshire 75 4,386 80 69 57 12 67 8 74 110 75 4,148
Northamptonshire 73 6,606 74 309 70 332 93 26 75 377 73 5,501
Northumberland 77 2,579 80 43 100 6 50 1 81 44 77 2,474
Nottingham 72 2,500 77 456 73 275 88 15 71 318 71 1,363
Nottinghamshire 75 6,804 79 215 77 69 74 29 74 318 75 6,117
Oldham 73 2,446 67 770 76 83 100 7 73 108 77 1,440
Oxfordshire 76 5,398 73 297 72 124 80 20 76 333 77 4,503
Peterborough 66 1,836 66 337 65 72 83 5 64 106 66 1,262
Plymouth 73 2,102 69 22 61 17 81 13 70 61 73 1,952
Poole 72 1,008 78 29 44 4 N/A* N/A* 70 46 72 914
Portsmouth 69 1,471 78 115 75 51 60 6 66 63 68 1,197
Reading 73 1,188 75 243 73 122 80 4 74 128 71 660
Redbridge 79 3,092 80 1,661 78 343 95 18 80 275 79 722
Redcar and Cleveland 79 1,252 67 6 67 2 N/A* N/A* 84 27 79 1,211
Richmond upon Thames 88 1,876 82 137 75 49 94 15 87 192 89 1,416
Rochdale 72 2,077 67 484 70 86 80 4 71 104 74 1,372
Rotherham 71 2,292 74 195 79 42 75 3 70 64 70 1,963
Rutland 76 299 80 4 0 0 100 1 86 12 76 278
Salford 76 2,153 86 77 80 121 86 6 79 171 75 1,693
Sandwell 72 3,105 76 979 75 330 77 10 69 251 70 1,458
Sefton 79 2,296 83 29 91 10 67 2 82 49 79 2,184
Sheffield 72 4,408 75 559 69 265 79 22 72 323 73 3,089
Shropshire 77 2,277 92 23 40 2 83 5 79 61 77 2,151
Slough 76 1,721 83 899 73 141 100 1 69 145 68 449
Solihull 77 2,054 79 230 72 39 100 6 75 175 77 1,574
Somerset 75 4,193 74 48 90 19 79 15 76 109 75 3,972
South Gloucestershire 75 2,345 80 89 78 40 75 9 77 124 75 2,059
South Tyneside 79 1,275 75 45 90 9 50 1 76 25 79 1,176
Southampton 76 1,964 73 234 74 68 67 8 78 136 77 1,490
Southend-on-Sea 77 1,618 84 123 80 73 75 9 77 99 76 1,276
Southwark 77 2,467 81 142 74 1,049 74 29 80 280 82 753
St. Helens 74 1,524 60 15 73 8 80 4 79 33 75 1,455
Staffordshire 76 7,145 69 269 74 54 88 21 76 234 76 6,514
Stockport 79 2,626 79 183 72 33 78 14 77 150 79 2,204
Stockton-on-Tees 79 1,885 76 91 85 29 91 10 73 40 78 1,700
Stoke-on-Trent 69 2,139 66 320 74 75 76 13 67 103 70 1,602
Suffolk 73 5,640 78 114 67 41 89 8 75 339 73 5,025
Sunderland 78 2,482 74 106 78 21 62 8 80 40 78 2,296
Surrey 81 9,865 81 701 76 145 95 53 83 595 81 8,195
Sutton 83 1,906 90 389 82 147 93 26 83 184 82 1,114
Swindon 75 2,085 78 234 74 66 89 8 78 121 75 1,640
Tameside 73 2,056 68 228 76 47 50 6 79 98 74 1,648
Telford and Wrekin 77 1,720 79 100 63 53 100 7 83 104 77 1,451
Thurrock 76 1,780 82 99 86 319 88 14 78 108 72 1,186
Torbay 75 1,035 69 11 67 2 100 5 80 35 74 973
Tower Hamlets 80 2,580 80 1,649 74 262 95 18 82 167 82 376
Trafford 84 2,467 88 372 81 100 95 36 84 174 84 1,695
Wakefield 71 2,737 63 105 77 36 82 9 77 99 71 2,463
Walsall 72 2,595 76 652 72 133 89 17 75 167 71 1,592
Waltham Forest 78 2,499 79 698 75 477 89 33 80 280 77 925
Wandsworth 79 1,915 77 336 73 434 100 11 80 249 84 814
Warrington 81 2,036 85 60 79 11 75 9 81 55 81 1,887
Warwickshire 78 4,714 83 281 71 60 100 18 81 223 78 4,080
West Berkshire 76 1,347 79 53 65 13 88 7 82 75 76 1,184
West Sussex 76 6,678 76 321 69 97 76 16 79 327 76 5,804
Westminster 81 1,160 81 185 81 196 81 21 87 137 86 313
Wigan 79 2,831 84 46 76 28 75 9 72 58 80 2,659
Wiltshire 76 3,936 84 66 61 36 56 5 79 142 76 3,601
Windsor and Maidenhead 81 1,226 78 181 79 11 86 6 76 96 82 906
Wirral 74 2,773 75 85 71 12 94 16 77 90 74 2,551
Wokingham 82 1,624 90 247 72 47 100 20 80 100 81 1,192
Wolverhampton 77 2,502 81 601 76 315 100 7 76 284 76 1,255
Worcestershire 73 4,535 65 157 62 16 90 9 76 170 73 4,139
York 77 1,449 83 33 92 11 89 8 77 40 76 1,341

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity and area Summary

Figures broken down by ethnicity and local authority are often based on small numbers of pupils. As a result, they are likely to change from year to year. The Isle of Scilly had 26 pupils in year 6, and the City of London had 22. Please treat the results for these 2 local authorities with particular caution.

The data shows that:

  • in 2017/18, 88% of pupils in Richmond Upon Thames met the expected standard in reading, the highest percentage out of all local authorities
  • 61% of pupils in Bedford met the expected standard, the lowest percentage out of all local authorities

4. By ethnicity and gender

Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in reading, and average scaled score and progress score, by ethnicity and gender
Boys Girls
Ethnicity Boys Expected Boys Higher Boys Average scaled score Boys Progress score Girls Expected Girls Higher Girls Average scaled score Girls Progress score
All 72 24 104 -0.4 79 32 106 0.4
Asian 72 24 104 0.0 79 30 106 0.5
Bangladeshi 72 22 104 0.3 80 29 106 0.9
Indian 78 32 106 0.3 85 40 107 0.9
Pakistani 67 18 103 -0.4 73 23 104 0.1
Asian other 75 26 105 0.1 81 34 106 0.7
Black 69 20 104 -0.2 78 28 105 0.6
Black African 71 21 104 0.0 79 30 106 0.8
Black Caribbean 64 16 102 -1.0 75 24 105 0.0
Black other 68 18 103 -0.2 77 26 105 0.6
Chinese 81 37 107 0.6 86 48 109 1.8
Mixed 73 26 105 -0.1 81 35 106 0.9
Mixed White/Asian 78 31 106 0.2 84 41 108 1.2
Mixed White/Black African 74 25 105 0.1 82 34 106 1.0
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 67 19 103 -0.8 77 28 105 0.2
Mixed other 75 27 105 0.2 83 36 107 1.1
White 72 24 104 -0.5 79 33 106 0.4
White British 73 25 104 -0.6 80 34 106 0.3
White Irish 78 33 106 0.7 87 45 108 2.2
Gypsy/Roma 25 3 94 -2.0 32 5 96 -0.9
Irish Traveller 35 7 98 -0.4 38 6 98 0.1
White other 66 21 103 0.7 73 29 105 1.7
Other 65 20 103 0.4 72 25 105 1.1
Unknown 59 21 103 -0.3 66 28 105 0.7

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV)

Summary of Reading results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

  • overall, in 2017/18, 79% of girls and 72% of boys met the expected standard in reading by the end of key stage 2 (when they are 10 to 11 years old), while 32% of girls and 24% of boys met the higher standard
  • girls were more likely to meet the expected and higher standards than boys in every ethnic group
  • White Irish girls had the highest attainment amongst boys and girls of all ethnic groups at the expected standard, with 87% meeting the standard
  • Chinese girls had the highest attainment at the higher standard, with 48% meeting the standard
  • White Gypsy/Roma boys had the lowest attainment, with 25% meeting the expected standard and 3% achieving the higher standard, the lowest percentages amongst boys and girls of all ethnic groups
  • overall, the average scaled score was 106 for girls and 104 for boys
  • Chinese girls had the highest average scaled score (109), while White Gypsy/Roma boys had the lowest average scaled score (94)
  • overall, girls made above average progress in reading between key stage 1 and key stage 2 (0.4), while boys made below average progress (-0.4); average progress is expressed as a score of 0.0
  • White Irish girls made the most progress in reading, with a score of 2.2; boys from White Gypsy/Roma background made the least progress in reading, with a score of -2

5. Methodology

The key stage 2 datasets combine information from the following two data sources:

  • prior attainment records (key stage 1 results)
  • school census records

Key stage 2 data received from the Standards and Testing Agency is matched to school census records to identify pupils’ ethnicities.

Pupils with no valid result for a subject are excluded from the calculations for that subject and are not included in the number of eligible pupils or in the outcome percentages for that subject.

Valid results for the national test figures are:

  • achieved the expected standard
  • not achieved the expected standard
  • special consideration
  • absent
  • working below the standard of the test
  • unable to access the test

Confidence intervals:

Confidence intervals are available for the ‘progress score’ if you download the data. These confidence intervals are calculated for a school based on a specific group of pupils. A school may have been just as effective, but have performed differently with a different set of pupils. Similarly, some pupils may be more likely to achieve high or low results, independently of which school they attend. To account for this natural uncertainty, it is best to interpret these school scores alongside their associated confidence intervals.

A 95% confidence interval around progress scores means that if the progress scores of 100 random schools were taken, then 95 times out of 100 their progress score would fall between the upper and lower confidence interval. But 5 times out of 100 it would fall outside this range.

School scores are interpreted alongside their associated confidence intervals in the following manner: If the lower confidence interval is greater than zero, it can be interpreted as meaning that the school has achieved greater than average progress compared to pupils with similar starting points nationally. Similarly, if the upper confidence interval is below zero, then the school has made less than average progress. Where the 95% confidence intervals overlap zero, this means that the school’s progress score is not significantly different from the national average.

The Department for Education no longer suppress any of the data published in this page.

Rounding

Percentages given in charts, tables and downloads are rounded to the nearest whole number. Progress scores are given to 1 decimal place.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2018

Quality and methodology information

6. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The main purpose is to measure schools' and pupils' progress and performance from key stage 1 to key stage 2, in order to monitor and improve standards and inform parental choice when applying to local schools.

7. Download the data